Michoacán

Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo (Spanish pronunciation: [mitʃoaˈkan de oˈkampo]), officially Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. The State is divided into 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia (formerly called Valladolid). The city was named after José María Morelos, one of the main heroes of the Mexican War of Independence.

Michoacán is located in South-Western Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Colima and Jalisco to the west and northwest, Guanajuato to the north, Querétaro to the northeast, the State of México to the east, and Guerrero to the southeast. To the southwest, Michoacán has a stretch of coastline on the Pacific Ocean.

The name Michoacán is from Nahuatl: Michhuahcān [mit͡ʃ.'waʔ.ka:n] from michhuah ['mit͡ʃ.waʔ] ("possessor of fish") and -cān [ka:n] (place of) and means "place of the fishermen" referring to those who fish on Lake Pátzcuaro. In pre-Hispanic times, the area was the home of the Tarascan Empire, which rivaled the Aztec Empire at the time of Spanish encounter. After the Spanish conquest, the empire became a separate province which became smaller over the colonial period. The state and several of its residents played a major role in the Mexican War of Independence. Today, the state is still home to a sizable population of Purépecha people as well as minor ones of Otomi and Nahua. The economy is based on agriculture, fishing, mining and some industry. The major tourism draw for the state is the Lake Pátzcuaro–Tzintzuntzan–Quiroga area, which was the center of the Tarascan Empire, also the National or State Parks which include the winter grounds of the Monarch Buterflies ("Mariposas Monarca") and the beautiful Park where the Cupatitzio River has its main source.

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